Summary
One Piecefollows the Straw Hats adventures as they sail along the Grand Line on theirquest to fulfil their dreamsand make their captain the Pirate King. They are currently in the New World, where protagonist Monkey D. Luffy has made a name for himself and become a Yonko after having defeated Emperor Kaidou in Wano.
This sea is the most dangerous seen in theOne Pieceworld, and is home to not only more powerful antagonists, but also more dangerous islands and weather conditions. This makes it particularly hard for pirates to navigate, and only crews with botha very skilled navigator, and a special kind of Log Pose, can make their way. In fact, Gol D. Roger’s crew is rumored to be the only one to have traveled across the entire stretch, but Nami is second to none and the Straw Hats have surely and steadily been making their way.
Where Is the New World Located?
The Grand Line is the strip of ocean perpendicular to the Red Line. It is de facto structured as an archipelago of many islands and is contained within the two strips of sea that are home to the sea monsters, known as the Calm Belt. It is where the majority of the events of theOne Pieceseries take place, and where this strip intersects the Red Line, it creates a cross that generates the four oceans that make up theOne Pieceworld:the North Blue, West Blue, South Blue and East Blue.
The first half of the Grand Line, surrounded by the East Blue and South Blue, is where theOne Piecestory takes place Pre-Timeskip. This strip of sea is located between the point of entry at Reverse Mountain, wherethe Straw Hats met Crocus and Laboon, and the Red Line. After the Red Line, the second strip is called the New World, and it circles back to the other side of Reverse Mountain around where, presumably, Raftel is located.
Weather in the New World is Anything But Ordinary
The name New World references what Amerigo Vespucci nicknamed the Western Hemisphere upon discovering the Americas. Called that way because it is a whole “New World” to discover, those of theOne Pieceworld who have ventured there have nicknamed the first half of the Grand Line “Paradise”, with reference to how calm and simple it is to navigate in comparison. In fact, the weather in the New World is even more volatile and unpredictable than in Paradise, proving itself a challenge to all navigators ofcrews who venture into these territories.
The islands contained in the New World are highly dangerous. They are home to even stranger geographies than in Paradise and their drastic weather conditions often generate an inconsistent magnetic field, making it unpractical to navigate with a traditional Log Pose. In fact, these unstable fields oftentimes disappear, so to not get lost, it’s necessary to have a special kind of Log Pose specific to the New World, with three needles instead of one. Though there is no guarantee, more often than not, the most dangerous island is the one with the most inconsistent field, causing its needle to tremble. Of course, the one with the least stable needle is repeatedly the Island Luffy chooses to sail to, such as was the case withhis choice to head to Egghead Island.
The Yonko’s Influence on the New World
In theOne Pieceworld, the Yonko are one ofthe three major power playersresponsible for maintaining order. This is achieved through not only sheer strength, but also influence and territories. In fact, as it is an extremely dangerous sea, it is customary for the Yonko to take the islands under their protection and put up their flags, to show any potential attackers that to pick a fight with the Island means to pick a fight with them.
Many examples of this have been seen in theOne Pieceseries, the first of which wasthe case of Fishman Islandhaving to pass under Big Mom’s protection after losing Whitebeard. Of course, this scenario was quite common after Whitebeard’s crew disbanded, and the remaining Yonko, with the addition of the new Yonko Blackbeard, fought to take advantage of the power vacuum and conquer more territories for themselves. Later in the series, fans were also introduced to more of Big Mom’s territory, duringthe Whole Cake Island Arc, and Kaidou’s territory, which due to his deal with Orochi consisted of the entire independent nation Wano.
Though not much is known about Shank’s territory, he seems to take less powerful nations under his wing out of kindness, to offer them protection they otherwise wouldn’t be able to achieve. This was also the case with Whitebeard, though the other Yonko reaps benefits from their territories, such as howKaidou used Wano to fabricate his weapons arsenal. This is also seen with how Big Mom interacts with her territories as she asks for both sweets, and, in the case of Whole Cake Island, a tribute in the form of lifespan.
Though the Yonko have a strong influence in the New World, there are also Islands under independent rule, such as Dressrosa, and Islands under the World Government,such as Egghead Islandand Punk Hazard. After the current arc,One Piecefans suspect the Straw Hats will likely head to Elbaf, the land of the giants that they have been eagerly awaiting ever since it was foreshadowed all the way back in Little Garden.
